Archive for the ‘4 Cupcakes’ Category

The ancient and evil woman called Beloved has finally broken through into Luster, the land of the Unicorns, and brought the Hunt with her. As the Hunters start their genocide, the unicorns gather together and find allies of their own — but if they can’t find a way to get back their fighting fire, it could be the end of the unicorns forever. But Beloved’s mad Hunt has an unintended consequence: the gate she opened is right in the heart of Luster, destroying the great tree that holds the world together, and now not just the unicorns, but all of Luster, may be doomed…

On his 11th birthday, Will Stanton learns that he not merely human; he is the last of the immortal Old Ones, destined to protect the world from those that would destroy it. Since time immemorial there has been a constant struggle between the forces of the Light and those of the Dark. Now the Dark is rising, gathering for a final push, and the chances of stopping it for once and for all rest with a small group of children: Will, youngest of the Old Ones; Simon, Jane, and Barney Drew, powerless but clever and resourceful; and Bran Davies the Raven Boy, with a secret magical heritage of his own.

Hey! Today is this site’s third birthday! Jess and I are working on big exciting plans to celebrate, but as they aren’t quite ready yet, consider this a teaser. It’s gonna be awesome.

Nya is a hungry orphan who looks after her little sister, an apprentice Healer — and Nya is also a Taker, someone who can heal other people and take their pain. But unlike proper Healers, she can’t dump that pain into pynvium, only into other people, so she’s always thought her power was usesless (and something to hide, since the Duke whose forces are occupying her homeland has a dark interest in unusual abilities). But when a pynvium shortage hits her city and apprentice Healers start disappearing, suddenly everyone wants to use Nya’s abilities. But all Nya cares about is finding her sister before it’s too late…

Nick has spent his life on the run from magicians and the demons they call up, with only his brother Alan and his crazy mother. But when a couple of kids come to him and Alan for help and Alan gets marked by a demon, Nick discovers that Alan has been lying to him for his whole life and nothing — not Alan or even Nick himself — is what it seems.

Princess Raisa is the heir to the queendom of Fellsmarch, but all princess heirs seem to learn about is etiquette and flirting, when Raisa wants to know about politics, strategy, and the lives of her people. With war at the borders, unrest among the poor, and friction between the matriarchal clans and patriarchal wizards who make up the most powerful forces in Fellsmarch, she’d better learn fast. Meanwhile, ex-thief Han Alister just wants to put his past behind him and find his place in life, but when he comes into possession of an ancient, powerful amulet, he finds himself caught up in danger, court intrigue, and the part of his past even he doesn’t know.

It’s 1914, and the world powers are on the brink of war: the German and Austria-Hungarian powers (Clankers) with their enormous machines, and the British, French, and Russian (Darwinist) powers with their engineered beasts. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand is the spark needed to light the powder keg, and war spreads quickly, throwing millions of lives into turmoil.

In Serbia, Alek Ferdinand, son of the assassinated archduke, must go into hiding when he learns that his allies were behind his parents’ murders, and his own people might be even more dangerous to him than the enemy. Meanwhile, in England, commoner Deryn Sharp has disguised herself as a boy and joined the British Air Services, where she serves aboard the whale airship Leviathan. But when the Leviathan is called on for a strange mission, things go badly very quickly, and not even neutral territory can protect Alek and Deryn when they meet…(more…)

After the Boov aliens kidnap Gratuity “Tip” Tucci’s mom (and oh yeah, invade and take over Earth, renaming it Smekland), things get… Weird. Tip decides to travel on her own to the human reservation in Florida, rather than taking the alien transport, and on her way she meets a Boov named J.Lo who might not be all bad, and she discovers her mom might still be alive somewhere. But nothing is what it seems, the humans aren’t in Florida after all, another alien race is threatening humans and Boov alike, and Tip, J.Lo, and Tip’s cat Pig might be the only hope for humanity.

After Ai Ling’s father disappears, strange things start to happen. She begins to develop strange powers, like the ability to hear people’s thoughts. But when a local merchant tries to blackmail her into marriage, she runs away and vows to bring her father home. But as she searches for him, something evil is searching for her…(more…)

Every night, the twelve princesses of Westfalin escape from their locked rooms and go dancing, and none of them will – or can – say where they dance. For his part, with the war over young soldier Galen is happy to work as a simple under-gardener in the palace. But as the lovely Princess Rose and her sisters grow more exhausted and despairing, and the country begins to tear itself apart, Galen must use all of his wits and courage to untangle the mystery of the princesses’ enchantment – and just possibly win the hand of Princess Rose himself.

Title:California Diaries: Ducky, Diary 1Author: Ann M. MartinGenre: Teen drama llamaPages: 180Summary: One of Ducky’s best friends is turning into a bully, while the other is crawling into his own depressed shell.Thoughts: After four books of Ducky ex machina, I was interested to see this guy’s internal landscape. And yes, I can see why he’s such a popular character – his neurosis and his concern for others is very likeable. (Also he’s probably gay, and that’s always a big hit in fandom.) One question, though: Why does Ann M. Martin (or her flock of ghostwriters) apparently think that boys don’t learn lowercase letters in school? Logan, Jeff, Ducky, and I’m pretty sure Jackie and…maybe David Michael?…all write in all caps.